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The Story So Far………….. About fifteen years ago, a handful of disparate souls, bored with the nine to five, decided to make the most of their spare time and thrash out the frustrations of the day by playing their favourite music together. After honing their skills, refining their set and kicking into touch several misfits, ELCO JONES were born. Why ELCO JONES? An inflated ego and schoolboy grasp of the Spanish language resulted in the grammatically incorrect band name. Wishing to impress upon people their belief that they were indeed 'The Bo!!**?s', a lack of attention to detail left them being immortalised as just the one testicle! A few pounds heavier, and with a lot more character and experience, they currently WOW audiences the length and breadth of the country - and can still swing it like they did back in the day!! They have been together in their present form for more than a decade and, like a good wine, have improved with age, gracing the stage at many prestigious venues: -Manchester's MEN Arena; The Belfry; The Brighton Dome; The Park Lane Hotel, and Latchingdon Football Club to name but a few!! Their heady mix of classic R 'n' B Soul, funk and disco are the vital ingredient to get your function fizzing - their energy and enthusiasm is positively contagious! If they don't get you dancing, you must be deaf or dead! THE BACK LINE… Alan 'Animal' Gooden - Drums Alan has been beating his drums for as long as he can remember - in fact legend has it that as soon as he could hold a stick, nothing was safe in the Gooden household - saucepans, dustbins, tin cans, toilet seats, you name it, he played it!! Some things never change - he's still an annoying little s*!? - but one of the best in the business! He's played his way up the ranks from school orchestras to a Bavarian Oompah band - where he met Paul Rawlins, one of his collaborators in 80s electro/new romantic/crap pop combo Chance (formerly known as Paris). There aren't many drummers that can hold a beat like our Alan - just a shame he doesn't come with a volume control! Warren 'Cool Hand' Byatt - Bass Guitar An ex-colleague of Alan's, Warren was one of the founder members of the band along with Alan, John Harrington and Kerry. With a fine musical pedigree and a music collection that could rival SONY, Warren is in charge of our sets, deciding the running order and what you get to hear - so you'd better be nice to him! Warren has a love of gadgets and memorabilia from film and tv and, we believe, is in touch with the dark side…it's always the quiet ones you have to watch! John 'Gran'pappy' Harrington - Lead Guitar The most, erm, 'experienced' member of the Jones boys, John learnt the fine art of the axe as a boy and has had plenty of time to get good at it!! From an era of some of the all-time greats, John was a pupil of Burt Wedon and a play mate of Chuck Berry. He shares his time between his Essex home and Spanish retreat and has a love of language - most of it of the four lettered variety! As dependable as a bloodhound and as comfy as your favourite sweater, John is the backbone of the ELCO family and, as such, deserves his own rocking chair!! Paul 'The Genius' Rawlins - Keyboards Arguably the most talented member of the band, Paul is one of those annoying people who can do just about everything (except dance!!) He has music coursing through his veins and his ribs are made of ebony and ivory! A child prodigy, Paul can play just about every instrument known to mankind: - Keys, guitar, bass, drums, trombone to name but a few. He can also hold a tune and fronted several bands in the 80s - including the aforementioned Chance/Paris where he worked with both Alan and Jane. The 80s were definitely Paul's era where he had an army of groupies desperate to be his number one and get to grips with his Jason Donovan blonde flick and cute dimples! Sadly, that's not the only thing that him and Jase have in common as he's now recognised as 'The Baldy' at the back'!! Paul originally joined ELCO back in 1996 as a Trombone player, but a bizarre gardening accident left the band needing someone on the keys and the rest, as they say, is history! THE HORNS… Kerry 'The Lips' Bennion - Trumpet/Flugel Horn The longest standing member of the horn section, Kerry has somewhat of a reputation as a straight talker. If he starts a sentence "The bottom line is…" you know that it ain't gonna be pretty! His lack of tact and diplomacy made him the obvious choice as our PR man and he is our number one fixer! Our very own 'Cleaner', he has also been responsible for any necessary personnel changes within the band, and funnily enough, has never had (m)any complaints! That said, his musical prowess ain't too shabby either, and his skills have been finely tuned over the years (even if his instruments haven't always been!). He has a long history in brass bands, but his finest hours have definitely been played out with ELCO - and long may they continue to be! Gerry 'Saxxy' Marshall - Saxophones (lots of them!) Gerry was 'persuaded to join ELCO JONES whilst in the employ of another band - and what an excellent poach he has turned out to be! A perfectionist to the enth degree, Gerry fancied a new challenge and took up playing the Saxophone less than ten years ago, but boy, can he play! Our Mr Marshall can blow as hard and fast as Divine Brown in the back of a Cadillac on Hollywood Boulevard! Quiet and measured, precise and well presented (if a little tardy!), he has a keen wit that can shock and, very rarely, offend. But he always has a smile on his face, and you could definitely take him home to meet your mum! T-Jay 'the Foreigner' McKenzie - Trumpet T-Jay not only has a silly name, but he is from Canada! He adds an air of cosmopolitan sophistication to our line up and we like to think that we are doing our bit to uphold the spirit of the Commonwealth. Besides, we couldn't resist his Milky Bar Kid appeal! With his many years experience with brass bands and teaching credentials Teej has become an invaluable member of the band - if only to give Kerry someone to glare at during gigs! Ironically, he has a photographic memory of the order in which his dots should be, but an aversion to checking his diary! We love him though! THE VOCALS… Jonny 'Bravo' Flemming - Male Lead Vox Our very own 'Mr Showbiz', Jon has toured the world and elsewhere! After stints in holiday camps sporting various different coloured coats, he took to the seven seas and headlined on cruise ships, where he perfected his craft and learnt his other invaluable skill as a choreographer! It is not very well documented, but rumoured that he is in fact the unknown offspring of a Mr E A Presley, of Memphis, Tennessee - the result of an unholy union at Prestwick airport in the late sixties, but this has never been proved (if only Jeremy Kyle had been discovered earlier!). Jonny B joined the band in 1998 following a chance meeting with Jane where she propositioned him, making him an offer he just couldn't refuse! The next day he stormed an open audition and was given the nod. Having very little life at the time, he jumped at the chance and soon became an accepted member of the family. Jon is a consummate professional with buckets of charm, charisma (and sweat!) With a twinkle in his eye and spring in his step, he holds audiences hanging on his every word…if he can remember them, that is!! Mandy 'Be Prepared' Gooden - Backing Vox There is one word to best describe Mandy:- Organised! So organised is she that when a vocalist was needed at short notice to sing backing in her husband's band, not only was she in the right place at the right time, did she know all the songs, lyrics and spot on harmonies, but she provided a full buffet as well! After that, they'd have been crazy to let her go Mandy is a stickler for detail, and is as sharp as a razor - there's no sneaking anything past her! She also owns a gig bag that's just like the Tardis - bigger on the inside! You need something it'll be in that bag - from a needle and thread, to a bottle of water, to 16 square feet of 3ft staging risers - Mandy's your girl! She didn't get her Musicians Badge at Brownies, but she can sure shake a mean tambourine too! Jane (formerly known as 'The Blonde One') Hare Female Lead Vox It is widely rumoured that Jane was so 'Born to Do It', that when the midwife slapped her arse in the delivery room, she didn't scream and cry, but belted out the chorus to Diana Ross's 'I'm Coming Out'! With a background in musical theatre and a thespian father, she has always been one step away from precocious! She was asked to try out for the band shortly after Paul joined in 1996 - as an after thought! Struggling to find a female vocalist that Kerry didn't want to sack, the band had a brain storm and it was Mandy that finally reminded both Alan and Paul that they used to play in a rubbish 80s band with that blonde girl. She cemented her place in ELCO's history during her first gig with an unfortunate incident with a barely there dress and some gaffer tape that had (mainly male) fans of the band coming back for more! Sadly these days it would take more than a roll of sticky stuff to keep her from a wardrobe malfunction, but she does still have a terrific set of lungs and can belt out a tune! She is infamous for her acid tongue and diva like tantrums - you want to see her get going when they forget the curry Pot Noodle on our rider… |